Snow Trillium Interior

A snow trillium (Trillium nivale) barely opens on a cold, windy spring day. The petals remain the very slightest bit open, protecting the delicate flower parts while still allowing some access to a persistent insect. It is among a group of about thirty blossoms. Most remain closed or nearly so, like this one, but several were fully open. Warmer weather is forecast for the next few days–well, warm by recent standards–and the remaining blooms will probably open by Friday. I took picture of snow trillium here last week. Many more plants have emerged since then, but most still hold their flowers closed as in the previous picture.

This image was taken with a Nikon D90 and a Micro-Nikkor 60mm AF f/2.8, the best cheap macro lens. Post-processed in Aperture, with auto-level followed by preset titled “Passions by SEIM.” I wanted the yellow center to have some punch without making it seem unnatural with excessive saturation. This image uses depth of field very well. The focus directs you to the flower’s central parts that are about a half inch inside the tube of semi-open petals. I find that the central parts of a flower, that is, stamens, pistil, etc. are like the eyes on a person or an animal–your brain desperately wants them to be in focus. The image just does not work if they are even slightly out of focus, unless there’s a really good creative reason that they are not.